The Cool School

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1 hr. 26 min.

Documentary

List

92%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Several artists try to make modern art more popular in Los Angeles.

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Critics Consensus

A breezy and lively modern art documentary, revealing that LA is not a cultural wasteland when it comes to fine art.

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Audience Member

Besides being graced by the narration of Jeff Bridges...a must for anyone interested in the visual arts, particularly the artists who began to put CA art on the contemporary map...as well as for anyone interested in the times in which they live...not to mention good film-making...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Audience Member

http://excogitatinggenius.blogspot.com/2011/10/jb63-cool-school-2008-documentary.html

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

it looks cool for some kind of artists

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Pretty inneresting little doc film about the heyday of the LA art scene.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

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Audience Member

Art offers the possibility of love with strangers. - unknown, yet quoted in this movie by one of the key players

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

Although not highly informative, this is a great view into the West Coast art scene at a time most people didn't one existed.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Morgan Neville

Director

Jeff Bridges

Narrator

John Baldessari

Actor

Larry Bell

Actor

Billy Al Bengston

Actor

Irving Blum

Actor

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Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Times (UK)

The Cool School is a history of the LA art scene which will be most interesting for those who are involved in it.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 15, 2008

Full Review

David Jenkins

Time Out

Morgan Neville's 'The Cool School' is a slickly packaged document of the burgeoning modern art scene in LA during the late '50s and early '60s which sadly submerges its fascinating subject matter in technical clutter and contrived set-ups.

Rated: 3/6

Aug 15, 2008

Full Review

James Hughes

Stop Smiling

Neville's film shows, in effect, how deliberate the founding of an art movement can be. But also how thrilling it is for those at the eye of the storm.

Aug 24, 2017

Full Review

Sam Jordison

Film4

Occasionally too reverent, this remains an effective evocation of a vibrant and interesting art scene, not to mention a touching paean to lost youth.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 15, 2008

Full Review

David Cornelius

eFilmCritic.com

The Cool School is neither as lively nor as complete as it could be, but as an introduction to modern art, it's a fine freshman course.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 20, 2008

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Synopsis

Several artists try to make modern art more popular in Los Angeles.

Director: Morgan Neville
Executive Producer: Dave Davis, Sally Jo Fifer
Screenwriter: Kristine Mckenna, Morgan Neville
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 18, 2017

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